Standards
Black Butterfly chords & key
- Key
- F major
- Form
- AABA
- Bars
- 32
- Groove
- Slow swing
- Time signature
- 4/4
“Black Butterfly” is a jazz standard by Ellington-Carruthers-Mills. Most bands play it in F major, slow swing; the tune runs 32 bars in AABA form. Harmonically it contains 4 major ii–V–I cadences and 2 minor ii–V–i, uses 25 different chords and moves between the key centres F major, D minor and G minor. In this atlas it appears on 1 album track.
Chord changes
Showing in: Concert (C) — F major
Changes as commonly played (concert pitch). Your band's version may differ.
Harmonic analysis
Most used chords
- C7×8
- D7×8
- E♭7×7
- F7×5
- Gm7×4
- F6×4
Key centres reached by ii–V
F major, D minor and G minor
Characteristics
- AABA song form
Recorded on these albums
Historic 78 rpm recordings
- Black Butterfly Joe Thomas and his Orchestra · Joe Thomas · Hilton Jefferson · Jerry… · 1946 archive.org ↗
- BLACK BUTTERFLY JOE THOMAS and his ORCHESTRA · Joe Thomas · Hilton Jefferson · Jerry… · 1946 archive.org ↗
Frequently asked questions
What key is Black Butterfly in?
Black Butterfly is usually played in F major. For B♭ instruments that is G major, for E♭ instruments D major.
Who wrote Black Butterfly?
Black Butterfly was written by Ellington-Carruthers-Mills.
What is the form of Black Butterfly?
Black Butterfly has 4 sections (AABA) with 32 bars in total.
How fast is Black Butterfly played?
The usual groove is Slow swing.
What are the chord changes to Black Butterfly?
The opening bars are Gm7 C7 | F6 | Fmaj7 Em7b5 Eb7 | D7 Eb7 D7. The full chart above can be transposed to any key.